Aptar Pharma, a leading provider of drug delivery systems, is nearing completion on its expansion at its Congers, NY state-of-the-art manufacturing site. The new space will enable the company to better serve North American pharmaceutical customers, as injectable elastomeric component manufacturing will be completed in the United States for the first time by Aptar.

Final construction is planned by the end of the first quarter of 2017 so that Aptar Pharma can anticipate shipping validation batches to customers in the second quarter of next year. The expansion is part of a stepped program to increase Aptar Pharma’s footprint in the United States, according to Bas Van Buijtenen, President of the Injectables Division of Aptar Pharma.

“This investment is continuing our commitment to growing and accelerating our footprint in North America. More significantly, the technology we are introducing will increase our ability to provide world-class manufacturing capabilities to our customers locally. This will provide premium products, shorter lead-times and more responsive service for the US elastomeric components markets,” Van Buijtenen said.

The added space will house state-of-the-art clean rooms and integrated best-in-class vision equipment, according to Van Buijtenen. “Vision equipment will be used to perform 100% of the automatic inspection of all parts during the finishing process to ensure PremiumVisionTM product quality,” he said. “The increased facility space also enables the company to conduct all of our finishing operations in the United States, including Aptar Pharma’s recently launched PremiumCoatTM coated stoppers.”

The expansion was necessary to meet the continued growth of Aptar Pharma’s US injectables business and is part of Aptar’s multiyear investment program supporting the global growth of its injectables business.

“We are bringing all of our knowledge and the value-adding parts of our process closer to the customer,” he added. “We want our customers to know us better. To understand what we can do for them on an entirely different level.”

Van Buijtenen also commented, “We are a global player with a strong position in North America. Our integration into AptarGroup gives us access to the latest technologies, exceptional people and great financial stability. Our US business has been growing very rapidly, and this investment in capacity will support and accelerate our growth into the future,” he said.